Carnival shaping up well

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Last Saturday the launch of what has been dubbed “The Mother of all Carnivals” was held.

During the event, National Carnival Commission Chairman Winston “Gypsy” Peters said the inability to host Carnival had taken its toll on the people of T&T and we were now appreciative of the event and what could be done to make it even bigger.

The financial impact of the event on the country can’t be understated, as it was highlighted in a song by Soca Star Bunji Garlin in his 2021 song “Heart of People” which he performed less than 30 minutes after Peters made that statement. Tourism Minister Randall Mitchell also spoke to the economic impact of the event as he said it generated hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue and brought tens of thousands of visitors.

He referenced the recent boost given to Tobago from 20,000 Trinidadian visitors in their inaugural staging of Carnival in October, as he noted that potentially 60 million dollars could have been spent in Tobago if on average visitors spent $3,000 for their period of stay.

According to the Central Statistical Office, in 2020 when a full Carnival was last held in this country there were 37,851 visitors. It is estimated these visitors spent $458,155,961 during their visit to Carnival 2020.

There is great expectation that the two-year absence will spur 2023 to be one of the largest celebrations ever seen on these shores.

The NCC chairman told the Business Guardian, that so far the indicators are trending towards this expectation becoming reality.

He said, “All the feedback that I have gotten back so far are positive ones. People love it and people are waiting with great anticipation for Carnival 2023. “

He said the launch on Saturday, which saw the Grand Stand filled for the event, further wet the appetite of those yearning for Carnival’s return.

“They saw a taste of Carnival and they saw the enthusiasm in which people participated in the launch of Carnival and that has them looking forward to Carnival 2023 even more,” he said.

“I am told that the bookings and the registration in a lot of the bands, the sections are already sold out and a lot of the hotel rooms are already filled. And that was confirmed by my Minister (Randall Mitchell) as well. So those are good indicators that Carnival 2023 is in full effect and ready to go,” he said.

The two directors at YUMA, Tanya Gomes and Sean Burkett, confirmed that a large percentage of the band had been sold out.

“The registration process was excellent! We had a great response from both our longstanding and new Yumans. We’re really excited and energised that so many people, both locally and internationally, are ready to be on the road with us. We cannot wait to give our masqueraders the best road experience, and to ensure that they are outfitted in a costume that they love,” said Gomes, who also serves as production manager at the band, “As we expected, there is heightened interest in being on the road for Carnival 2023. So far, 9 out of our 13 sections have already sold out.”

Gomes also agreed that the Carnival was living up to the hype so far.

She said, “Our masqueraders are excited and pumped; just as we are. It’s been two years without revelry and mas so they are looking forward to being on the road with us.”

Ronnie and Caro bandleader and soca legend Ronnie McIntosh took part in Saturday’s event as a performer. While he could not say if the event itself further pushed the desire for Carnival 2023, he agreed that the early signs suggested that Carnival’s return had been highly anticipated, particularly from outside of the country.

“Our registration speed and stuff don’t really depend on the official launch of Carnival, because our band launched in July, and we have been up and running in the first week of August.

“We have the foreign base attention which is you know, always early and then you get a bump from after Miami for the foreigners, but some of them shift their focus a bit to Miami” said McIntosh, who explained that the only lull thereafter had been for the first-ever staging of Carnival in Tobago in October.

“There was a local pause, so to speak because a lot of masqueraders went across Tobago. So we expect that the locals now, they will be reaching out again in the next couple of weeks coming up to the end of November kind of thing. October was for Tobago, so November now is you know, back to focus on 2023. So, our registration is going quite nicely,” he said.

Peters couldn’t say if the Tobago event had helped push Carnival 2023, but he believed the upcoming Carnival would help Tobago’s Carnival evolve into a force of its own.

“I don’t know if it was an aid for building into the 2023 Carnival but I can say it was from what I saw it a very good first-time effort at putting on the Carnival. And from what I could see from it, in time to come, if there is a perfect collaboration and the right mindset in putting it on, it will be a big, big, big event in time to come. I have always envisaged that and having seen what they did, I think it was great. Whether it would contribute to Trinidad Carnival I don’t know but I am sure that Trinidad Carnival would contribute to the success of Tobago’s Carnival,” he said.

“We are looking forward to ensuring that we have a safe Carnival, and we are looking forward to ensuring that all the infrastructure that has to be in place for Carnival is there. to ensure the comfort of the people who are participants and spectators alike in our Carnival, visitors and natives we are making sure that all preparations are in full effect for Carnival,” said the NCC chairman.

Tribe’s chief executive officer Dean Ackin also agreed there was high anticipation for Carnival 2023.

He said, “We expect this Carnival to be an extraordinary one for many reasons, especially because of the high anticipation and hype around our first Carnival since COVID. Masqueraders are anxious and ready. We are seeing an uptick in demand and are preparing for some moderate growth this year.”

He however said the availability of flights and room stock could restrict the growth of the event.

Ackin said,”One limiting factor on the participation in Carnival annually is usually the lack of airlift and accommodation for visitors. Whilst this year’s Carnival may not be “the mother of all Carnivals”, we do expect a bumper year for all Carnival activities.”